This invention relates to apparatus for forming edible rings and it particularly relates to apparatus for forming a formable food mass, comprising onion pieces and a binder, into a ring shape.
A popular way to prepare and serve onions is in the form of French fried onion rings. French fried onion rings have become so popular that they are now mechanically processed, packaged, and frozen in large quantities for use in restaurants and institutions, as well as in consumer size packages for home use. Such automatic equipment is shown, for example, in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,494 wherein fresh unpeeled onions are automatically peeled and sliced, and in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,534,792, wherein the onion slices are further processed by being separated into rings of a desired size. In both of these machines, residual portions of the processed onions are generally surplus as are the onion ends and, the small central portions or hearts of the onions. Methods of utilizing these portions of the onion are known. Generally, this consists of reducing these onion pieces as well as chopped whole onions to a desired size and then mixing the same with a binder to create a formable food mass. Onion rings of the desired size are then made from the food mass. Preferably, automatic equipment is used to form the food mass into the desired shape. Although food processing equipment is known for shaping an edible material into the desired size and configuration including various forming and extruding devices, such as that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,650,765 and 3,650,766, the instant invention provides significant advantages over the prior art.